AUTHOR=Jerrentrup Jana Sabrina , Komainda Martin , Seither Melanie , Cuchillo-Hilario Mario , Wrage-Mönnig Nicole , Isselstein Johannes TITLE=Diverse Swards and Mixed-Grazing of Cattle and Sheep for Improved Productivity JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems VOLUME=3 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00125 DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2019.00125 ISSN=2571-581X ABSTRACT=
Increasing sward phytodiversity has been suggested as having potential to increase primary production of grasslands, but whether any such gains are converted into secondary production, through improved performance of grazing livestock, remains uncertain. Animal production by cattle and sheep can also be enhanced by mixed-grazing. To our knowledge, this effect has never been studied in relation to differences in sward phytodiversity. Therefore, a rotational grazing experiment was conducted over 5 years (2007–2011) on permanent grassland in Germany using sheep and cattle in mono- (single-species) or mixed-grazing of swards differing in plant species richness. Herbicides against dicotyledonous plant species were used to create different sward types: species-poor, grass-dominated swards in contrast to untreated “diverse” control swards. We found no differences in herbage production between the sward types. However, compared to the grass-dominated sward, the diverse sward showed greater concentrations of crude protein and lower contents of acid detergent fiber in the herbage dry-matter. Lamb live weight gains were slightly greater on the diverse-swards (